Plans and Purposes
by L Moonshade
Summary: Sequel to Fish in a Barrel. Kate and Methos start planning for their future. MethosxOC One shot


I don't own Methos, much to my dismay. The _Shopi _and Kate are mine, however.

A/N Thanks as always to Raynbowz for help, including the title.

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Methos watched the white cat with amusement as she froze, waiting for the mouse to look away from her. Once it did, she crept a few steps closer with agonizing slowness, moving carefully so as not to be heard. Finally she felt she was close enough and leaped... And missed. The mouse ran and the cat twisted to wash her tail with feigned nonchalance.

"Ah, yes, of course," Methos chuckled. "You meant to do that."

She paused long enough to shoot him a glare then returned to ignoring him, going back to her cleaning.

He'd seen her eyes, though, eyes he knew far too well to mistake for anyone but his wife's, and Methos sat up. "Kate?"

She gave her tail one last swipe then turned to him, purring as he scratched behind an ear.

"Well, that explains where you've been all day. Not quite as large as you'd hoped."

As a cat, she was only about as large as a bobcat. She'd been miffed about that, but only until she'd started playing with her new form and realized that, for some things, smaller was better.

"It's almost night. Do we want a private cabin?"

Kate rubbed her head against Methos' hip. As nice as it was sleeping with the rest of the _abyt_, she was ready for a night alone with her husband. Methos chuckled and gathered her in his arms then stood. She carefully climbed onto his shoulders and lay down and he leaned his head against hers and sighed happily.

"This is the greatest advantage of being small," he said. "I like this."

She purred in agreement.

Methos gingerly picked his way towards one of the private cabins, moving carefully until he got used to Kate's weight on his shoulders. Once they were inside, she jumped down so he could start a fire; by the time he was done, night had fallen and Kate was back in human form.

"So. How do you like being a cat?"

She stretched, purring. "It's every bit as wonderful as I'd expected. But, this will always be my favorite form."

He hid a smile. "Oh? Why is that?"

She reached up and drew him down. "I can't make love to you in cat form," she murmured and kissed him.

When they were done, they lay spooned together, Kate between Methos and the fire to keep warm. "I take it lessons are going well," he murmured, nuzzling her cheek.

"Very." When it had become apparent that Kate had developed a strong predatory instinct along with the rest of her vampiric abilities, Methos had brought her to the _Shopi_, hoping they would be able to teach her how to deal with it. They were. "Today was a surprise, though."

"We thought you might be able to shape change." Most of the vampires with a totem animal could, and there was no doubt that Kate's totem was a cat.

"Yes, but I thought I'd be forced back into human form. We've never seen a vampire stay in animal form during the day."

"Not because they can't, but because they're locked into whatever form they're in when the sun rises. We'll have to keep an eye on that, then."

"Not too difficult with my sense of the sun." They fell silent for a long moment. "I think I'll be ready to go, soon. As much as I like being here, I can't hide forever."

He kissed the back of her neck. "You're not hiding, love, not this time. Well, we can start talking about where we want to settle, and that brings up something I've been wanting to ask for a while, now. What dream do you want to go after first?"

Kate had no idea what he meant. "Huh?"

Methos smiled. "You gave up a lot to raise a family, were forced to give up a lot by your medical issues. Now, though, you don't have any of that to worry about. So. What do you want to do?"

"Oh." There were so many things that, for a moment, Kate felt overwhelmed. In the end, though, the answer came more easily than she'd expected. "Homicide."

"Committing? Oh, wait, no. You've already done... Oof," he grunted as she elbowed him.

"Detective, smart ass," she growled.

"I know," he chuckled. "You'll be good at it. We'll start doing research, then, find the best way to approach it. Once we know that, we'll leave."

She rolled over to face him. "You're okay with that?"

He smiled and kissed her gently. "I've had all the time in the world to do everything I've wanted. Now, it's your turn. The next century or two are yours."

A smile spread across her face. "You are a gem. Have I told you lately how grateful I am for you?"

His smile turned wicked. "Yes. But you're welcome to show me again."

Kate laughed and kissed him.


End file.
